1. Technical Field
The present disclosure is related to renal denervation and endovascular drug delivery. More particularly, the present disclosure is related to an iontophoretic catheter system and method for denervation of the renal sympathetic nerve and iontophoretic drug delivery.
2. Description of Related Art
Chronic elevated blood pressure, or hypertension, is a significant cause of heart disease and death and afflicts millions worldwide. Generally, one having chronic blood pressure of over 140 mm Hg systolic and 90 mm Hg diastolic is classified as suffering from hypertension. It is believed that renal sympathetic nerve activity initiates, and sustains, the elevation of blood pressure. The renal nerves are bundled around the renal artery, which is readily accessible via the femoral artery. Renal denervation has been found to reduce blood pressure.
There exist several disadvantages of conventional methods of renal denervation for the treatment of hypertension. Conventional methods involve the application of intense heat to several discrete sites of the renal artery, which can be very painful to the patient and increase recovery times. Additionally, the application of intense heat may produce flow limiting stenosis. Another disadvantage has to do with not knowing the exact location of the nerve bundle within the artery wall. Therefore, multiple sites must be treated in order to increase the probability that the renal nerve function will be attenuated.
Another disadvantage includes the difficulty in maintaining apposition with the blood vessel wall during treatment. Also, conventional renal denervation treatment systems and methods require moving the catheter longitudinally as well as rotating the catheter after the treatment of each site to avoid the creation of flow-limiting stenosis. Therefore, systems and methods for renal nerve denervation which overcome the disadvantages of conventional renal nerve denervation systems and methods would be a welcome advance.